Irelandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/ireland
en-usSun, 02 Aug 2015 18:14:00 -0400Sun, 02 Aug 2015 18:14:00 -0400The latest news on Ireland from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/61-people-ireland-lost-house-after-rate-screw-up-2015-7An Irish bank is paying €50,000 to people who lost their houses because it calculated their mortgages wronghttp://www.businessinsider.com/61-people-ireland-lost-house-after-rate-screw-up-2015-7
Tue, 28 Jul 2015 05:48:46 -0400Ben Moshinsky
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/55b7509cdd08955f4a8b464e-3000-2250/irish kid.jpg" alt="irish kid" data-mce-source="Showbiz Ireland/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="March 17: A child waves a flag during the St Patricks Day Parade on March 17 2005 in Dublin, Ireland" /></p><p>An Irish bank is paying &euro;50,000 to people who lost their houses because they were <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/permanent-tsb-gp--il0a-/rns/mortgage-redress-programme/201507280900022735U/">charged the wrong interest rate.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.permanenttsb.ie/media/permanenttsb/pdfdocuments/permanent-tsb-mortgage-redress-programme-customer-guide.pdf">Permanent TSB</a> estimates that around 61 people may have been forced out of their homes because of the error.</p>
<p>The bank said it would also write off the rest of their mortgages if they still owe money.</p>
<p>The redress is part of a review of more than 1,300 accounts by Permanent TSB and <a href="https://www.springboard.ie/consumer/mortgage-redress-programme.asp">Springboard Mortgages</a>, following an investigation by the Bank of Ireland.</p>
<p>The lender said "<span>the failures which occurred have had very serious consequences for impacted customers and we apologise unreservedly on behalf of the Group to them and to all our customers."</span></p>
<p>Some customers weren't told that they could get a cheaper tracker rate at the end of their fixed rate mortgage term. They've now been put on the tracker rate, "to allow them to consider their options," the bank said.</p>
<p>People who lived in their house fare better than those who let them out to renters. The buy-to-let accounts will only get redress of &euro;25,000.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/61-people-ireland-lost-house-after-rate-screw-up-2015-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-helicopters-nyc-airports-low-price-gotham-air-2015-6">The 'Uber of helicopters' can get you from Manhattan to JFK for much less than you think </a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-bizzare-story-of-how-a-libyan-dictator-almost-bought-a-chunk-of-the-bank-of-ireland-2015-7 The bizarre story of how a Libyan dictator almost bought a chunk of the Bank of Ireland http://www.businessinsider.com/the-bizzare-story-of-how-a-libyan-dictator-almost-bought-a-chunk-of-the-bank-of-ireland-2015-7
Sun, 19 Jul 2015 10:49:59 -0400
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/554e82d86bb3f788318d77e4-620-388/gaddafi-3_1780857b.jpg" alt="gaddafi" data-mce-source="EPA" data-mce-caption="The LIA is suing Goldman and Societe Generale over losses sustained in the Gaddafi era." /></p><p>It's one of&nbsp;the more bizarre stories to come from the banking inquiry so far.</p>
<p class="p1">Representatives of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi&rsquo;s government met with officials from the Irish government&nbsp;in 2010 to discuss Libya buying a huge stake in Bank of Ireland.</p>
<p class="p1">However they pulled out of the deal because he didn&rsquo;t feel &lsquo;comfortable&rsquo; with Ireland&rsquo;s finances at the time which were mired in the depth of the financial crisis.</p>
<p class="p1">The story was revealed in what was otherwise routine questioning of John Corrigan, the former head of the NTMA, on Wednesday.</p>
<p class="p1">Fianna F&aacute;il TD Michael McGrath asked Corrigan about a note in his evidence to the inquiry about how the Libyan Investment Authority initially approached Bank of Ireland in November 2010 and the bank told the NTMA about it.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;We felt this was an issue worth pursuing,&rdquo; Corrigan told the inquiry.</p>
<p class="p1">The NTMA asked the Department of Foreign Affairs if it was ok to go ahead with the talks with the Libyans and Corrigan said they were given the all clear.</p>
<p class="p1">NTMA officials travelled to Libya and spent a day discussing the plan, which would have seen Libya make a &euro;1.4 billion investment in the bank, including &euro;1 billion in preference shares and around &euro;400 million &ndash; the market value &ndash; for 24% of the ordinary shares in Bank of Ireland.</p>
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4bb0bfe27f8b9a9d24310100-400-300/boi329.jpg" alt="Bank of Ireland" /></p>
<p class="p1">However the Libyans were uncomfortable with Ireland&rsquo;s precarious financial situation.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;The whole discussion concentrated around a possible third round of recapitalisation [for Ireland] and in the event&hellip; they pulled out of it,&rdquo; Corrigan said.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;From their point of view it was probably a clever decision not to proceed with it,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;And so Colonel Gaddafi didn&rsquo;t quite almost own a good share in Bank of Ireland?,&rdquo; Michael McGrath said with a bemused tone.</p>
<p class="p1">Corrigan said that it was a deal worth examining at the time, regardless of what happened in Libya afterwards.</p>
<p class="p1">&ldquo;I know we can look at this with the benefit of handsight of what&rsquo;s happened in Libya, but certainly the Libyan Investment Authority were a very highly regarded sovereign investment fund and had a very substantial diversified portfolio of investments globally,&rdquo; Corrigan said.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-bizzare-story-of-how-a-libyan-dictator-almost-bought-a-chunk-of-the-bank-of-ireland-2015-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/adderall-add-adhd-amphetamine-drug-effects-body-2015-6">What Adderall is actually doing to your body</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-iag-961-million-aer-lingus-takeover-offer-2015-7Ryanair caved under pressure and just accepted IAG's £961 million takeover of Aer Lingushttp://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-iag-961-million-aer-lingus-takeover-offer-2015-7
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 03:05:50 -0400Oscar Williams-Grut
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/559f7564dd089569578b460a-3153-2364/rtr2uevl.jpg" alt="Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Irish low-fare airline Ryanair, shows the company's charity 2012 calendar during a news conference in Brussels November 24, 2011. Ryanair said it will pursue Aer Lingus directors for a breach of company law if the former state carrier refuses again to hold an extraordinary general meeting." data-mce-source="REUTERS/Yves Herman" data-mce-caption="Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Irish low-fare airline Ryanair, shows the company's charity 2012 calendar during a news conference in Brussels November 24, 2011." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ0F4EE22&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1440&amp;RH=671#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ0F4EE22&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1440&amp;RH=671&amp;POPUPPN=20&amp;POPUPIID=2C04080ZR7VZQ" /></p><p>British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) is buying Irish national carrier Aer Lingus, after Ryanair <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/ryanair-holdings-plc--rya-/rns/ryanair-board-votes-to-accept-iag-offer/201507100730026790S/">rolled over and accepted the deal</a>.</p>
<p>IAG has targetted&nbsp;Irish national carrier Aer Lingus for months. Its latest &euro;1.36 billion (&pound;961 million) bid was <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/iags-961-million-aer-lingus-takeover-irish-approval-puts-spotlight-on-ryanairs-michael-oleary-2015-5#ixzz3fT5jt0a8">OK'd by the Irish government in late May</a>, leaving Aer Lingus' biggest shareholder Ryanair the only obstacle.</p>
<p>Budget airline Ryanair owns 29.8% of Aer Lingus&nbsp;and many thought it would&nbsp;try to block the bid. Ryanair has made three unsuccessful attempts to buy <a href="http://aerlingus.com/" target="_blank" title="" class="skimwords-link" data-skimwords-id="875323" data-skimlinks-editor="0" data-skimwords-word="aer%20lingus" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="300001" data-skim-product="875323" data-skim-node-id="190:smadethreeunsuccessf_1">Aer Lingus</a>. It is currently <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ryanair-is-predicting-an-irrational-airline-price-war-that-could-be-great-for-customers-2015-5">under orders from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to sell its stake</a>, something <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ryanair-vows-to-fight-cmas-aer-lingus-sale-order-in-the-courts-2015-6">Ryanair heavily contested</a>.</p>
<p>But Ryanair said today that it has "voted unanimously" to accept the bid from IAG, which owns British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia.</p>
<p>Ryanair's colourful CEO Michael O'Leary <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/ryanair-holdings-plc--rya-/rns/ryanair-board-votes-to-accept-iag-offer/201507100730026790S/">said in a statement today</a>: "We believe the IAG offer for Aer Lingus is a reasonable one in the current market and we plan to accept it, in the best interests of Ryanair shareholders. The price means that Ryanair will make a small profit on its investment in Aer Lingus over the past 9 years."</p>
<p>But he couldn't resist a parting dig, adding: "We wish IAG well with their takeover of Aer Lingus. When Ryanair first bid for Aer Lingus in late 2006, Ryanair (36m passengers) carried 4 times Aer Lingus traffic (9m). Today Ryanair (over 100m) carries more than 10 times Aer Lingus traffic (10m), and we will continue to deliver the vast majority of Ireland's traffic and tourism growth in the coming months and years."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ryanair-iag-961-million-aer-lingus-takeover-offer-2015-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cristiano-ronaldo-spends-money-salary-fortune-real-madrid-2015-5">Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-aeromexico-dreamliner-makes-emergency-landing-in-ireland-2015-6An AeroMexico passenger jet made an emergency landing in Irelandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-aeromexico-dreamliner-makes-emergency-landing-in-ireland-2015-6
Mon, 29 Jun 2015 12:55:00 -0400
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/559177e3eab8eae91bfdc42d-973-583/screen shot 2015-06-29 at 12.51.53 pm.png" border="0" alt="AeroMexico Dreamliner"></p><p>DUBLIN (Reuters) - A Boeing Dreamliner en route from Mexico City to Paris made an emergency landing at Ireland's Shannon Airport on Monday.</p>
<p>All 193 people on board disembarked safely, a spokesman for the airport said on Monday.</p>
<p>The spokesman said crews on the ground were planning to inspect the Aeromexico plane. He declined to comment on what caused the plane to make the emergency landing.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by David Holmes)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/startup-wants-to-drag-bus-chartering-into-the-21st-century-2015-6" >This startup wants to drag bus chartering into the 21st century</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-aeromexico-dreamliner-makes-emergency-landing-in-ireland-2015-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mba-worth-money-tuition-cost-benefit-analysis-2015-6">We did the math: Is an MBA worth it?</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-finance-minister-europes-negotiators-are-ill-equipped-to-forge-good-hard-decisions-2015-6Greek finance minister: Europe's negotiators are 'ill-equipped to forge good, hard decisions'http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-finance-minister-europes-negotiators-are-ill-equipped-to-forge-good-hard-decisions-2015-6
Sat, 20 Jun 2015 09:35:00 -0400Shane Ferro
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5551a46decad04311f2ae3b1-1200-924/yanis-varoufakis-66.jpg" border="0" alt="Yanis Varoufakis"></p><p>The Greek crisis marches on.</p>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/yanis-varoufakis-a-pressing-question-for-ireland-before-monday-s-meeting-on-greece-1.2256339">op-ed in the Irish Times newspaper</a> Saturday, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis laid out his frustrations with European negotiators.</p>
<p>Specifically, he writes that he's not actually allowed to communicate through written proposals with most of his fellow finance ministers in the Eurogroup negotiations (this may be why he's started <a href="http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2015/06/18/greeces-proposals-to-end-the-crisis-my-intervention-at-todays-eurogroup/">posting them online</a>). And when he speaks, he says, there is silence.</p>
<p>He starts with the Irish finance minister Michael Noonan. Varoufakis says that in a meeting about the Greek crisis this week, <span>Noonan</span>&nbsp;"protested that ministers had not been made privy to the institutions’ proposal to my government before being asked to participate in the discussion."</p>
<p>Varoufakis then says that he, in turn, was "not allowed to share with Mr Noonan, or indeed with any other finance minister, our written proposals. In fact, as our German counterpart was later to confirm, any written submission to a finance minister by either Greece or the institutions was 'unacceptable.'" (This is his list of written proposals, which <a href="http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2015/06/18/greeces-proposals-to-end-the-crisis-my-intervention-at-todays-eurogroup/">he posted online</a>.)</p>
<p>In the Irish Times, he continues that "it is as if Europe has determined that elected finance ministers are not up to the task of mastering the technical details; a task best left to 'experts' representing not voters but the institutions."</p>
<p>When he made a verbal presentation, then, this happened:&nbsp;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Regrettably, my presentation was met with deafening silence. Excepting Michael Noonan’s apt remark, all other interventions ignored our proposals and reiterated the frustration of ministers that Greece had . . . no proposals.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>An impartial spectator of our eurogroup deliberations would come to the safe conclusion that it is a strange forum, <strong>one ill-equipped to forge good, hard decisions when Europe truly needs them</strong>.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>What Varoufakis is really saying here is that he's not actually allowed to negotiate with his peers, and as such the whole model is broken. It's an important, if one-sided, insight into what is going on behind closed doors in the seemingly endless meetings about Greece's financial future.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The negotiations are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eu-official-next-week-is-really-the-last-for-a-greece-deal-2015-6">down to the wire</a>. There is an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-would-probably-happen-if-greece-defaults-on-the-imf-2015-6">emergency summit Monday</a>, and other European leaders are warning that next week is Greece's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eu-official-next-week-is-really-the-last-for-a-greece-deal-2015-6">last to make a deal</a>.</p>
<p>Until the ECB agreed to pump in emergency liquidity Friday in order to shore up Greek banks over the weekend, they <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-ecb-doesnt-know-if-greek-banks-will-be-able-to-open-on-monday-2015-6">were threatening</a> that they might not be able to open on Monday.</p>
<p>It's unclear if this op-ed will make much of a difference for the&nbsp;beleaguered Greeks.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/el-erian-10-things-to-know-about-the-greek-crisis-2015-6" >EL-ERIAN: 10 things you should know about the crisis in Greece </a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-finance-minister-europes-negotiators-are-ill-equipped-to-forge-good-hard-decisions-2015-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-the-trailer-for-he-named-me-malala-2015-6">A powerful new documentary takes us deep inside the life of brave Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-is-experiencing-a-social-revolution-2015-5Ireland is experiencing a 'social revolution'http://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-is-experiencing-a-social-revolution-2015-5
Sat, 23 May 2015 15:32:00 -0400Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5560d41decad0485595f482b-1200-800/rtx1e99l.jpg" border="0" alt="ireland"></p><p>The people of&nbsp;Ireland&nbsp;backed same-sex marriage by a landslide in a referendum that marked a dramatic social shift in a traditionally Catholic country that only decriminalized homosexuality two decades ago.</p>
<p>After one of the largest turnouts in a referendum there, 62% of voters said 'Yes', making&nbsp;Ireland&nbsp;the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote.</p>
<p>'Yes' supporters crowded into the courtyard of&nbsp;Dublin Castle&nbsp;to watch in blistering sunshine as results trickled in from around the country were shown on a large screen. They cheered with joy as the final tally was announced and then burst into a rendition of the national anthem.</p>
<p>"We woke up today to a new&nbsp;Ireland. The real&nbsp;Irish Republic&nbsp;that I have dreamed of my whole life," said&nbsp;Jean Webster, a 54-year-old administrator who came out as a lesbian eight years ago after separating from her husband.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5560d45f6da811973674ff19-1200-858/rtx1e8oj.jpg" border="0" alt="ireland"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Government ministers waved a rainbow flag from the stage in front of the crowd and one lesbian senator proposed to her partner live on national television.</span></p>
<p>"The answer is yes to their future, yes to their love, yes to equal marriage. That 'Yes' is heard loudly across the world as a sound of pioneering leadership from our people," Prime Minister&nbsp;Enda Kenny&nbsp;told a news conference. "Ireland, thank you."</p>
<p>The&nbsp;Catholic Church, which teaches that homosexual activity is a sin, saw its dominance of Irish politics collapse after a series of child-sex-abuse scandals in the early 1990s and limited its 'No' campaigning to sermons to its remaining flock.</p>
<p>The archbishop of&nbsp;Dublin&nbsp;said the result presented a challenge.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"It is a social revolution. It's very clear that if this referendum is an affirmation of the views of young people, then the Church has a huge task ahead of it," Archbishop&nbsp;Diarmuid Martin&nbsp;told national broadcaster RTE.</span></p>
<p>"The Church needs to do a reality check."</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5560d4bc69bedd6c7ca02b91-1200-800/rtx1e9a2.jpg" border="0" alt="ireland" style="font-size: 15px;"></p>
<h2>TABOO</h2>
<p>Ireland&nbsp;follows several Western European countries including Britain,&nbsp;France, and&nbsp;Spain&nbsp;in allowing gay marriage, which is also legal in&nbsp;South Africa,&nbsp;Brazil,&nbsp;Canada, and some US states. Homosexuality remains taboo and often illegal in many parts of&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;and&nbsp;Asia.</p>
<p>US Vice President&nbsp;Joe Biden&nbsp;tweeted: "We welcome&nbsp;Ireland's support for equality. #LoveWins"</p>
<p>After Irish expatriates flocked home to vote, 60% of registered voters cast their ballot, the highest in two decades.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5560d3f6ecad04a85d5f482b-1032-844/screenshot 2015-05-23 15.24.01.png" border="0" alt="gay marriage worldwide"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"This is a big placard from the people of&nbsp;Ireland&nbsp;to the rest of the world saying this is the way forward," said&nbsp;David Norris, who began a campaign for gay rights in the late 1970s.</span></p>
<p>The proposal was backed by all political parties, championed by big employers, and endorsed by celebrities, all hoping it would mark a transformation in a country that was long regarded as one of the most socially conservative in&nbsp;Western Europe.</p>
<p>Only a third of the country backed the decriminalization of gay sex for men over 17 in 1993, according to a poll at the time. When voters narrowly legalized divorce in 1995, only five of the 30 constituencies outside&nbsp;Dublin&nbsp;backed the proposal.</p>
<p>This time, all bar one of the 43 voting areas approved the marriage measure.</p>
<p>"It changes everything, the worries and fears I had as a young gay kid in&nbsp;Ireland, they're all gone," said&nbsp;Ger O'Keefe, 27, a 'Yes' campaigner from Waterford.</p>
<p>"This will tell kids now that you don't need to be afraid."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-is-experiencing-a-social-revolution-2015-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-marriage-ellen-2015-1">Kanye West explains how marriage has helped him become a better man</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-where-its-illegal-to-be-gay-2015-5Here are all the countries where it's still illegal to be gayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/countries-where-its-illegal-to-be-gay-2015-5
Sat, 23 May 2015 12:13:00 -0400Associated Press and Natasha Bertrand
<p><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/55606f4469beddb064a02b90-1200-750/rtx1e7ld.jpg" border="0" alt="ireland">Ireland has voted resoundingly to legalize gay marriage in the world's first national vote on the issue, leaders on both sides of the Irish referendum declared Saturday even as official ballot counting continued.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"We're the first country in the world to enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular mandate. That makes us a beacon, a light to the rest of the world of liberty and equality. So it's a very proud day to be Irish," said Leo Varadkar, a Cabinet minister who came out as gay at the start of a government-led effort to amend Ireland's conservative Catholic constitution.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Varadkar, who personally watched the votes being tabulated at the County Dublin ballot center, said the Irish capital looks to have voted around 70% in favor of gay marriage, while most districts outside the capital also were reporting strong "yes" leads. He said not a single district yet had reported a "no" majority. Official results come later Saturday.</span></span></p>
<p><span>Laws punishing people for being gay still exist in 76 countries, including Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, and Singapore. <a href="http://76crimes.com/76-countries-where-homosexuality-is-illegal/">Punishments in these countries</a> range from forced psychiatric treatment and lifelong prison sentences to hard labor and death by public stonings.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>While Russia has not explicitly banned homosexual acts, the country adopted <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/russia-law-banning-gay-propaganda">repressive laws</a> prohibiting any kind of "gay propaganda" in 2013.</span></p>
<p><span>Here are all the places where it is still illegal to be gay. (A full list can be found <a href="http://76crimes.com/76-countries-where-homosexuality-is-illegal/">here</a>.)</span></p>
<p><span><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5560a4b169beddde44a02b90-1139-537/screen shot 2015-05-23 at 12.01.17 pm.png" border="0" alt="map illegal gay">And here's a look at the state of things in the US:</span></span></p>
<div><strong><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5560bbff69bedd595aa02b93-1200-742/same-sex_marriage_in_the_united_states.svg.png" border="0" alt="Same sex_marriage_in_the_United_States.svg"><br></strong></div>
<div><strong><strong><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5560bbff6da811180274ff17-1344-396/screenshot 2015-05-23 13.41.56.png" border="0" alt="Screenshot 2015 05 23 13.41.56"></strong></strong></div>
<p><span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-where-its-illegal-to-be-gay-2015-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/robbie-rogers-deals-failure-mistakes-soccer-sports-athletes-2015-4">The athlete who paved the way for openly gay men in American sports tells us how he deals with failure</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-apple-says-eu-probe-of-irish-tax-policy-could-be-material-2015-4Apple is warning that the EU's investigation into Ireland's tax laws could have a 'material impact' (AAPL)http://www.businessinsider.com/r-apple-says-eu-probe-of-irish-tax-policy-could-be-material-2015-4
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 05:20:00 -0400Devika Krishna Kumar
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5406ecca69bedd9b4f5326f6-1200-924/tim-cook-angry-sad.jpg" border="0" alt="Tim Cook angry sad"></p><p>(Reuters) - Apple has warned that the European Commission's investigation into Ireland's tax treatment of multinationals could have a "material" impact if it was determined that Dublin's tax policies represented unfair state aid.</p>
<p>Apple said that if the EU's investigations concluded against Ireland, the company could be required to pay past taxes for up to 10 years "reflective of the disallowed state aid."</p>
<p>A material event is "usually defined as 5 percent of a company's pre-tax earnings for the past three years," <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/507f19e8-ee77-11e4-98f9-00144feab7de.html#axzz3Ymua41TL">the Financial Times reports</a>, which for Apple equates to in excess of $2.5 billion.</p>
<p>The EU began a formal investigation against Ireland in June last year for alleged state aid to Apple. Ireland already has a a relatively low tax rate — 12.5%, compared to a UK corporate tax rate as high as 35% — but Apple also makes use of complicated international accounting maneuvers to lower its bill further.</p>
<p>The tax rate on some of the Cupertino company's income <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-apple-avoids-paying-in-taxes-2014-6">is reportedly as low as 3.7%</a>. In 2012, Apple's "foreign base sales income" was about $25 billion, according a U.S. Senate subcommittee report, and it avoided paying $9 billion in txes on that income.</p>
<p>If the European Union's investigation ultimately rules against Apple, then it could be forced to stump up a decade of allegedly owed taxes. Apple said that as of March 28, it was unable to estimate the impact of having to pay these taxes.</p>
<p>"The company believes the European Commission’s assertions are without merit," Apple said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.</p>
<p><em>(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)</em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-apple-says-eu-probe-of-irish-tax-policy-could-be-material-2015-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-google-dodge-taxes-2014-5">How Apple And Google Dodge Billions In Taxes</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/submarine-drags-fishing-boat-backwards-across-the-irish-sea-2015-4Irish fishermen tell scary story of their boat being dragged backward by a submarine and nearly being pulled underhttp://www.businessinsider.com/submarine-drags-fishing-boat-backwards-across-the-irish-sea-2015-4
Thu, 16 Apr 2015 09:50:00 -0400Henry McDonald
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="float:right;"></span><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/552fbe3edd0895377c8b456c-1200-924/uss-seawolf-attack-submarine-sea-trials-1997-5.jpg" border="0" alt="USS Seawolf attack submarine sea trials 1997">A crew of Northern Irish fishermen believe their trawler was dragged backwards across the Irish Sea by a submarine.</span></p>
<p>The skipper of the Karen, Paul Murphy, said his vessel was damaged during the incident on Wednesday.</p>
<p>He added that while none of the four-man crew was injured, the boat and its nets had been snagged, dragging the boat backwards.</p>
<p>The incident happened at a point known as the Calf Man close to the Isle of Man. Murphy said all four men on board were badly shaken by the experience.</p>
<p>“Without warning, we were stopped and pulled backwards very violently at around 10 knots which is the top speed of the vessel. I really thought that was it. It was fortunate that one of the steel ropes holding the net snapped or we would have been pulled under very quickly.</p>
<p>“The incident only lasted about just over five seconds but it was very scary. The submarine did not come up to the surface after we tangled with it. We have now lost thousands of pounds of fishing gear.”&nbsp;</p>
<p>The damage to the Karen would cost about £10,000 to repair before the boat could return to sea from its home port of Ardglass, County Down, the skipper said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Ministry of Defence said it did not comment on submarine activity.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A Nato exercise is taking place north of the Irish Sea close to the Scottish coast and involves 55 warships, 13,000 sailors as well as 70 aircraft.</p>
<p>Russian submarines have also been suspected of operating close to the shorelines of the UK and Ireland.</p>
<p>Dick James, chief executive of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/northernireland" class=" u-underline" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag">Northern Ireland</a>&nbsp;Fish Producers’ Organisation, said military procedures meant naval personnel were supposed to stop and identify themselves following such an incident.</p>
<p>This week the MoD said Typhoon jets, from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, were deployed “after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace”.</p>
<p>James added: “There has been Russian activity. There have been allied exercises going on, the Russians have been taking an interest in it.”</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/submarine-drags-fishing-boat-backwards-across-the-irish-sea-2015-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-9-separates-before-crash-2015-4">Watch the SpaceX rocket separate from its cargo before crash landing</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-still-wont-release-irish-emails-2015-4Microsoft: The future of cloud computing rests on some emails stored in Ireland (MSFT)http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-still-wont-release-irish-emails-2015-4
Thu, 09 Apr 2015 13:06:38 -0400Julie Bort
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52a09ecceab8eab73096af81-905-679/brad-smith-microsoft-general-counsel-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Brad Smith Microsoft General Counsel"></p><p>In case that first began in December 2013, Microsoft is still refusing the government's demands to hand over emails of one of its users.</p>
<p>The government wants the emails as part of a drug trafficking investigation.</p>
<p>The problem is the emails are stored on a server in Ireland and Microsoft says that the US government doesn't have the jurisdiction to demand them, at least not from Microsoft.</p>
<p>Last summer, Microsoft lost its appeal on the matter.</p>
<p>On late Wednesday evening, Microsoft filed a&nbsp;<a href="http://mscorp.blob.core.windows.net/mscorpmedia/2015/04/Microsoft-Reply-Brief.pdf">legal brief reply on the matter,</a> once again arguing that it should not be compelled to turn over emails stored in a foreign country, Microsoft's head lawyer, Brad Smith <a href="http://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2015/04/09/our-legal-challenge-to-a-us-government-search-warrant/">explained in a new blog post.</a></p>
<p>The gist of Microsoft's argument is:</p>
<p>A warrant served on an internet service provider should only be able to cover things in the cloud world that would be covered in the physical world, namely materials inside US borders, and a subpoena should be issued to the target of the investigation, not the ISP, Microsoft argues. If the government wants emails located outside the country, it should comply with mutual legal assistance treaties (MLAT) with those other countries. In this case, Irish law requires authorization from an Irish district court judge to obtain e-mail content from a provider, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/microsoft-fights-us-search-warrant-for-customer-e-mails-held-in-overseas-server/2014/06/10/6b8416ae-f0a7-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html">the Washington Post reports.</a></p>
<p>The case has caused a <a href="https://www.eff.org/cases/re-warrant-microsoft-email-stored-dublin-ireland">flurry of support from other members of the cloud computing industry</a> who are concerned that it puts "U.S. cloud providers in the position of having to break the privacy laws of foreign countries in which they do business in order to comply with U.S. law," <a href="http://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/2/hatch-coons-and-heller-introduce-bipartisan-leads-act-to-protect-data-stored-abroad">Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, explained in a press release.</a></p>
<p>Hatch, with Microsoft's support, is sponsoring a bill called the LEADS Act that would create a law that backs Microsoft's position. The bill would clarify that US courts can't demand documents stored overseas if doing so would violate the laws of the country where it is stored, or if the data is not associated with a US citizen or someone with permanent residence here.</p>
<p>Until the time that bill is passed, or the government changes its position and goes through the MLAT proceedings for the Irish emails, Microsoft is in between a legal rock and a hard place. It can't ignore the US order, but if it complies with it, it could be violating Irish law.</p>
<p>And, if this doesn't get resolved, it could really hurt US cloud companies' ability to win international business.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-still-wont-release-irish-emails-2015-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-impact-brain-body-sleep-2015-2">This is what happens to your brain and body when you check your phone before bed</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/15-reasons-to-visit-ireland-2015-315 reasons why everyone should visit Irelandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/15-reasons-to-visit-ireland-2015-3
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 11:53:12 -0400Drake Baer
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ireland is home to incredibly peaceful cemeteries, gorgeous castles, an awesome landscape of bogs, beaches, and cliffs, and of course, Guinness.</span></p>
<p>As I learned in a nine-day trip around Ireland and its sibling Northern Ireland, this island is one of the most magically friendly places on Earth.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here are fifteen reasons to visit.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>1. The Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland, are super rugged. Here's the wreck of the Plassy, a steam trawler that got blown off course during a severe storm in 1960.<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/542185566bb3f77d6e25706d-1200-600/plassy-shipreck.jpg" border="0" alt="plassy shipreck"></h2>
<h2>2. The beaches in Ireland aren't lazy Californian affairs. They're majestically badass. Here: Rossbeigh Beach in the the southwestern county of Kerry.&nbsp;</h2>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5436fce16bb3f71214848567-1200-600/rossbeigh-beach-ireland.jpg" border="0" alt="Rossbeigh Beach, Ireland"></p>
<h2>3. Monasteries like&nbsp;Kylemore Abbey in County Galway are outrageously peaceful. The Irish church was far from the influence of Rome, so it developed its own Celtic style.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54217de269bedd922e133446-1200-600/kylemore-abbey.jpg" border="0" alt="kylemore abbey"></p>
<h2>4. Irish cuisine is completely underestimated. Get beyond the potato with poached salmon, bacon and cabbage, and steak and Guinness pie.&nbsp;</h2>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5425c0a96da8118411ae9489-1200-600/steak-guinness.jpg" border="0" alt="steak guinness "></p>
<h2>5. The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, is a strange and beautiful natural wonder. Legend has it that the Finn McCool, a beloved Irish giant, built the causeway to pick a fight with a Scottish giant, but they were actually formed by an ancient volcanic eruption.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5436f5da69bedd68719cf927-1200-667/7907906404_d0815beec4_o.jpg" border="0" alt="giants causeway" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></p>
<h2>6. Bogs — wetlands created by heaps of peat — are beautiful. About 16% of the island is "bogland," as they say over there, and before electricity peat was a primary fuel used to warm homes. Sometimes they turn up <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24053119" target="_blank">4,000 year old human bodies</a>, perfectly preserved through the odd chemistry of the wetland. &nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54217c986bb3f75451257066-1200-600/bog.jpg" border="0" alt="bog"></p>
<h2>7. Ring forts, circular forts which were built in the Middle Ages, are totally awesome. They were most often used as enclosed farmsteads. There are over 45,000 ring forts around Ireland.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/541caebdeab8ea5456bea496-1200-600/img1268.jpg" border="0" alt="IMG_1268"></p>
<h2>8. Guinness is one of the finest beverages on Earth. That's <a href="http://www.bestbeerhq.com/top-10-facts-about-guinness/" target="_blank">why 10 million glasses are sold every day around the world</a>, making for over&nbsp;850 million litres sold a year — enough to fill&nbsp;340 Olympic-sized swimming pools with foamy deliciousness.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5436e8b9ecad044073e9868e-1200-600/guinness-14.jpg" border="0" alt="guinness"></p>
<h2>9. There are ruined medieval castles all over the country. Dunluce&nbsp;Castle, which sits perilously above the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland, is one of the most stunning castles, surrounded by steep drops into the sea. On a stormy night in 1639 most of the cliffside fell into the waters below, including several of the castle walls.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/545d100269bedd1d04c26635-1200-600/dunluce-castle-northern-ireland.jpg" border="0" alt="dunluce castle northern ireland"></p>
<h2>10. The Slieve League cliffs in the far northwest of Ireland feel like the edge of the world.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54217f87eab8eaf52a471656-1200-600/slieve-cliffs.jpg" border="0" alt="slieve cliffs"></p>
<h2>11. Trinity College in Dublin is where many literary greats got their start. Alumni include Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and Bram Stoker, just to name a few. The library's Long Room, pictured here, served as a setting in the Harry Potter films.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/545d18076da8116328f5a001-1200-600/trinity-college-library-1.jpg" border="0" alt="trinity college library"></p>
<h2>12. Hills and graveyards are the punctuation marks of the Irish countryside. It's beautiful when they come together, like&nbsp;under the expansive skies of northwestern County Donegal.</h2>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/545d108feab8ea5a3923d9b3-1200-600/irish-graveyard-1.jpg" border="0" alt="irish graveyard"></p>
<h2>13. Hundreds of "standing stones" — 3,000 to 5,000 year old monuments made of a single rock driven into the ground — can be seen across Ireland. People think they had an agricultural or religious purpose. But they're so common that if you have one in your yard you probably want to make use of it.&nbsp;</h2>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/541cafc2eab8ea325ebea48f-1200-600/standing-stones.jpg" border="0" alt="standing stones"></p>
<h2>14. Dublin is a UNESCO City of Literature, home of legends like Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift. James Joyce may be the city's favorite author — The Modern Library voted his day-in-the-life epic 'Ulysses' as the best novel of the 20th century.&nbsp;</h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 2em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/542182c26bb3f7cf6b257063-1200-632/james-joyce.jpg" border="0" alt="James Joyce"><br></span></p>
<h2>15. The Burren, a limestone-filled landscape in County Clare, looks like Mars on a nice day. Though it appears desolate, the rugged place is remarkably fertile: The area contains 75% of the country's native species. Plus it knows how to treat you to a nice sunset.&nbsp;<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/542188b1ecad04bd07226e4f-1200-600/burren-sunset.jpg" border="0" alt="Burren Sunset" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></h2><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-that-will-make-you-want-to-visit-iceland-2015-1" >32 photos that will make you want to travel to Iceland</a></strong></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-reasons-to-visit-ireland-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/right-way-load-dishwasher-clean-dishes-2015-2">You've been loading your dishwasher all wrong</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-315 Irish sayings that everyone in America should usehttp://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:36:12 -0400Melia Robinson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5508347b6da8113e6f816224-1200-924/girl-celebrating-st-patricks-day-with-a-beer-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Girl celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a beer"></p><p></p>
<h1><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3">Read them here</a>&nbsp;»</h1><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/american-favorite-regional-sayings-2014-1">People From Across America Reveal Their Favorite Regional Sayings</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-315 Irish sayings that everyone in America should usehttp://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 08:34:00 -0400Melia Robinson
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/55039d956da811d4748b4567-1089-816/barack-obama-michelle-guinness-irish-pub-1.jpg" border="0" alt="barack obama michelle guinness irish pub">Each year on March 17, the Irish and Irish-at-heart come out in droves to pubs and parade routes to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland.</span></p>
<p>In the US, St. Patrick's Day serves as a valid excuse to wear green and drink.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But there's enough rich Irish culture to last the whole year round.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We scoured Celtic folklore, online forums, the Bible, and even our favorite Irish pub in New York City to find some beautiful and just plain weird sayings used on the Emerald Isle.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Some of the sayings are historic, out-of-use proverbs with original Irish Gaelic translations (today, as little as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/ireland.shtml" target="_blank">30% of the population</a> in the Republic of Ireland speak Irish).&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Others are examples of modern slang said in English, the shared official language.</span></p>
<h2>Here are 15 Irish expressions to break out on St. Paddy's Day:</h2>
<h3>1. May the road rise up to meet you.</h3>
<p>You may recognize this popular blessing (in Irish Gaelic: <span><em>Go n-éirí an bóthar leat</em>)</span>&nbsp;from Catholic weddings or cross-stitched pillows in Nan's house. <a href="http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/may_the_road_rise_up_to_meet_you.html#celtic" target="_blank">One of the main characteristics of Celtic Christianity</a> is the use of images of nature to show how God interacts with people. "May the road rise up to meet you/ May the wind be always at your back/ May the sun shine warm upon you face ..." uses everyday images to mean, may God remove obstacles in your journey through life.</p>
<h3>2. Sláinte!</h3>
<p>In an Irish pub, patrons toast each other <em>sláinte </em>(pronounced&nbsp;"slaan-sha") as they clink glasses of Guinness. Derived from the Old Irish adjective <em>slán </em>(which means "<a href="http://goireland.about.com/od/preparingyourtrip/tp/top10irishwords.htm" target="_blank">safe</a>"),&nbsp;<em>sláinte </em>literally translates as "health" and is used as a stand-in for the more time-consuming "I drink to your health!"</p>
<h3>3. What's the craic?</h3>
<p>Greetings like "Any craic?" and "How's the craic?" give rise to potential awkward misunderstandings for tourists, because craic is pronounced like "crack." The most straightforward definition is fun or enjoyment, and it can substitute for "How are you?" A typical response is "divil a bit," which means "not much."</p>
<h3>4. May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat.</h3>
<p>Consider this insult a double whammy. By saying, "<em>Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat</em>," the speaker wishes that a cat gobble up his enemy like a can of Fancy Feast, and that the Devil eat them both. It's a surefire sentence to Hell.</p>
<p>Curses are far more detailed and nuanced in Irish culture, as compared to the traditional F-bombs dropped in the U.S. Here's another popular mouthful of an insult: "May you be afflicted with itching without the benefit of scratching." Burn.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5502f3aeecad041b07a86ea2-1154-865/county-kerry-ireland-1.jpg" border="0" alt="county kerry ireland"></p>
<h3>5. Two people shorten the road.</h3>
<p><span>Company makes the journey fly, as evidenced by one anecdote from&nbsp;<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=BBDTOWaksHEC&amp;pg=PT251&amp;lpg=PT251&amp;dq=Son+of+The+Gobhaun+Saor&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=YzvClnyI3_&amp;sig=5d6yaV-B2PMHhgQ8q7j4e7OkTgw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=XHQgU5O4E6_8yAHJw4D4BQ&amp;ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&amp;q=Gobhaun%20Saor%20shorten%20the%20road&amp;f=false" target="_blank">Celtic folklore</a>. In it, a father asks his son to "shorten their journey" to see the king, and refuses to continue on foot when the son doesn't know how. Frustrated, the son asks his wife what to do. "Every one knows that storytelling is the way to shorten a road," she says. They set out the next morning, and the son weaves a tale the whole way to White Strand. Lesson learned:&nbsp;<em>Giorraíonn beirt bóthar.</em></span></p>
<h3>6. Story horse?</h3>
<p>Move aside, Wishbone. "What's the story, horse?" — abbreviated as "story horse?" — is how you ask a buddy what's up. It's a less breezy greeting than its American counterpart, and invites the other person to really dive into what's been going on in life.</p>
<h3>7. On me tod.</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A lonely lad says, "I'm on me tod," if he's riding solo at the bars that night, or alone in general. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/10/22/reviews/001022.22brucknt.html" target="_blank">Tod Sloan</a><span>&nbsp;was an American jockey whose mother died when he was young, whose father abandoned him, and whose incredibly successful horse-racing career came to an end when he moved to the U.K. and was ridiculed for his Western riding style. Sloan was always said to be "on his own."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This expression is one of the best-known examples of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.englishtown.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-cockney-rhyming-slang/" target="_blank">Cockney rhyming slang</a>, a phrase construction that involves taking a common word and using a rhyming phrase of two or three words to replace it.&nbsp;<span>"On my Tod Sloan" rhymes with "on my own"; but in typical Cockney fashion, the word that completes the rhyme</span><span>&nbsp;(</span><span>"</span><span>Sloan")&nbsp;</span><span>is omitted.</span></span></p>
<h3>8. Acting the maggot.</h3>
<p>Friend's messing around, being obnoxious? Acting the maggot. Phone taking forever to deliver an iMessage? Acting the maggot. Comparing someone or something to a wriggly little white worm means they're behaving like a fool.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/55039e75eab8ea8a1d8b4567-1060-795/celtic-irish-girl-woman-st-patricks-day-1.jpg" border="0" alt="celtic irish girl woman st. patrick's day"></p>
<h3>9. You son is your son today, but your daughter is your daughter forever.</h3>
<p>A man is only a son until he takes a wife. But as a daughter gets older, she will stay near the family, draining it of money and time for years to come. In <span>Irish Gaelic</span>, it's&nbsp;<em>Is é do mhac do mhac inniú, ach is í d’iníon d’iníon go deo</em>.</p>
<h3>10. 'Tis only a stepmother would blame you.</h3>
<p>There's no need to be embarrassed or feel badly about committing a small offense, if the deed is so insignificant that only a jealous, belittling stepmother could find fault with you.</p>
<h3>11. We're sucking diesel now.</h3>
<p>When things are going exceptionally well and you've found success, not by luck but by your own merit, pat yourself on the back by saying, "I'm sucking diesel." Or, celebrate that your Oldsmobile Diesel started up for what could be the last time.</p>
<h3>12. S---- in a bucket.</h3>
<p>Behold the raunchiest Irish slang used in sports: the English curse word "s---" with an "e" tacked on the end. It's pretty self-explanatory.&nbsp;When the Republic of Ireland's footballer James McCarthy recently <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/mar/05/ireland-serbia-international-friendly-match-report" target="_blank">tackled the ball</a> into his own net, giving Serbia its first goal of the game, spectators at t<span>he Aviva Stadium in Dublin were certainly mumbling this under their breath.</span></p>
<h3>13. That one suffers from a double-dose of original sin.</h3>
<p>The Bible proposes that when Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he cast a state of sin on all of mankind. Today, if a child is particularly mischievous, he's said to have&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">been twice-cursed by Adam's slip-up.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The phrase became popular in the 1880s, when proponents of British rule over Ireland <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=IVA0AQAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA53&amp;lpg=PA53&amp;dq=april+13+1886+home+rule+bill&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=4XUrqbhx_b&amp;sig=OkOABToZGI2q-drFw409UjMMfxA&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=maUgU-uwN8bH0QH524HAAg&amp;ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=double%20dose&amp;f=false" target="_blank">attributed the Irishmen's depravity of character</a> (and the famine, some argued) to their second helping of original sin.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52eff8dfeab8eac268235777-1024-768/buddy-christ-thumbs-up.jpg" border="0" alt="buddy christ thumbs up"></span></p>
<h3>14. Christ on a bike!</h3>
<p>Considered blasphemous by some Christians, the odd turn of phrase is a way of saying, "I can't believe what I'm seeing."&nbsp;<span>First "</span><span></span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/27/opinion/costello-jesus-movie/" target="_blank">#HotJesus</a><span>," now this.&nbsp;</span></p>
<h3>15. State o'you.</h3>
<p>A popular exclamation used in inner Dublin, "Look at the state o'you!" implies that a person's attire, personal hygiene, intoxication level, or general demeanor is worrisome. One might describe his drinking companion as being in a "bleedin' state" if he "gets pissed" or "wrecked" on lager at the pub.</p>
<p><em>Thanks to New York's&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thegaelpubnyc.com/main.html" target="_blank">The Gael Pub</a>'s Irish bartenders&nbsp;Ronan Carter, of County Sligo,&nbsp;and Rory Galligan, of County Cavan, for helping us research this story.</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/st-patricks-day-facts-2012-3" >13 Things You Need To Know This St. Patrick's Day</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/teenager-fishing-shark-australia-video-2015-1">Incredible Video Of A Teenager Catching A 440-Pound Shark On A Beach</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-accidentally-legalised-ecstasy-ketamine-and-crystal-meth-2015-3Ireland has accidentally legalised ecstasy, ketamine, and crystal meth for one day onlyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-accidentally-legalised-ecstasy-ketamine-and-crystal-meth-2015-3
Tue, 10 Mar 2015 10:36:00 -0400Rob Price
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54ff018edd0895ec6a8b45d1-977-732/mdma-molly-drugs-2.png" border="0" alt="mdma, molly, drugs"></p><p>Ecstasy, ketamine, and hundreds of other drugs are legal in Ireland for one day only thanks to an accidental loophole in the law, <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/article.php?id=1983239">The Journal reports</a>.</p>
<p>Ireland's 1977 Misuse of Drugs Act was found unconstitutional by the Irish Court of Appeal on Tuesday morning — meaning that the drugs prohibited in it are legal.</p>
<p>Drugs now legal in Ireland reportedly include ecstasy, crystal meth, and ketamine. So-called "legal highs" are also no longer prohibited, along with more than 100 other drugs, <a href="https://www.newstalk.com/Dail-emergency-legislation-drugs-legal-highs-headshops-Misuse-of-Drugs-Act">according to News Talk</a>.</p>
<p>Heroin, cocaine, and cannabis are not affected.</p>
<p>The Irish government is preparing emergency legislation to fix this loophole. But despite lawmakers' sitting late Tuesday night to do so, the law "can only take effect on the day after it's signed into law," <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/article.php?id=1983239">according to The Journal</a>, meaning ecstasy will remain legal in Ireland until 12 a.m. Thursday at the earliest.</p>
<p>The Irish government has released a statement acknowledging that while it "does not affect existing laws regarding the supply, possession, or sale" of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis, "it does affect the possession of certain newer psychoative substances."</p>
<p>Opportunistic drug dealers should still be wary, however. "We are advised that the sale and supply of psychoative substances remains an offence under existing legislation," the statement adds.</p>
<p><strong>Here's the full statement:</strong></p>
<div><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>
. <a href="https://twitter.com/campaignforleo">@campaignforleo</a> statement on the temporary legalisation of ecstasy (among other drugs) <a href="http://t.co/tO84E7H8Xf">pic.twitter.com/tO84E7H8Xf</a> </p>— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/575302652290011137">March 10, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></div><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-accidentally-legalised-ecstasy-ketamine-and-crystal-meth-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silk-road-founder-convicted-sentencing-conviction-court-2015-2">Here's the incredible story behind the guy who was just convicted for creating the 'eBay for drugs'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/irish-planes-had-to-avoid-russian-bombers-2015-3Russian bombers just flew 25 miles off the coast of Irelandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/irish-planes-had-to-avoid-russian-bombers-2015-3
Wed, 04 Mar 2015 09:33:59 -0500
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/546e0dcf6bb3f78f7adac8f4-1065-798/russian-air-force-tu-95.jpg" border="0" alt="Russian Air Force Tu-95"></p><p>Passenger jets had to dodge Russian bombers flying through air space controlled by Ireland.</p>
<p>The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said the two Tu-95 bombers flew some 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the Irish coast on February 18.</p>
<p>As a result, one passenger plane had to change its flight pattern to avoid a potential collision. Another plane delayed its takeoff.</p>
<p>No details were disclosed about the passenger planes.</p>
<p>According to the IAA, the Russian bombers had their transponders turned off, making them invisible to air traffic controllers.</p>
<p>The incident occurred the same day Britain scrambled fighter jets to intercept and escort two Russian military aircraft flying close to the British coastline.</p>
<p>NATO says there has been a dramatic rise in the number of incursions by Russian military aircraft amid mounting tensions between the West and Moscow over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-and-egypt-military-agreement-2015-3" >Russia and Egypt just got even closer</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/irish-planes-had-to-avoid-russian-bombers-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-ireland-that-shock-foreigners-2015-210 things about Ireland that shock foreignershttp://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-ireland-that-shock-foreigners-2015-2
Thu, 26 Feb 2015 15:13:00 -0500
<p>Ready to get drunk and violent in Ireland?</p>
<p>No, don’t, because the friendly Irish locals won’t let that happen.</p>
<p>Instead, you better sit down, wait for your hot cuppa tea, and have a fun conversation with the laidback Irish people.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Sorry, they won’t take no as an answer. Have the craic!</span></p>
<p>Here are the 10 things you need to know about Ireland:</p>
<h3>1. The Irish Language</h3>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54ef77e76bb3f7703486bcc7-1200-924/irish-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Irish">When you say Irish, it doesn’t only pertain to the people and culture. It also includes the language that isn’t – take note – limited to English.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.udaras.ie/en/an-ghaeilge-an-ghaeltacht/stair-na-gaeilge/">Irish is a Celtic language</a>&nbsp;just like Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, Cornish, and the rest of the other Celtic languages that died around 1,500 years ago.</p>
<p>It is believed that the Irish language has been used for over 2,500 years, spoken around Ireland and also in Scotland, the west coast of Britain, and the Isle of Mann. Through the years, the use of Irish has declined and&nbsp;English has taken its place. Studies now show that the Irish language ranks as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-now-the-third-most-spoken-language-in-ireland-after-english-and-polish-145200025-237438651.html">the third most spoken language in Ireland</a>&nbsp;after English and Polish.</p>
<h3>2. Irish ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ Not Available</h3>
<p>In Irish – Irish Gaelic to be clearer – there are no words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’. To answer positive or negative questions, you have to refer back to the question itself in the&nbsp;<a href="http://brendycaldwell.com/2013/03/19/on-craic-im-telling-you-there-is-no-word-for-yes-or-no-in-irish/">form of a positive or negative statement</a>. So&nbsp;<a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/49480/8-fun-facts-about-irish-language">it’s like</a>:</p>
<p>Ar dhiol sian an teach? (Did they sell the house?)</p>
<p>Dhiol. ([They] sold.)</p>
<p>Nior dhiol. ([They] didn’t sell.)</p>
<p>The Irish people nowadays who are used to speaking in English have the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/DoesNotTranslate/comments/1cr7ki/english_yesno_these_words_dont_exist_in_the_irish/">words Tá and Níl</a>&nbsp;(or shea and ní hea) used as equivalents. These words still don’t mean ‘yes’ and ‘no’, rather they mean ‘it is’ and ‘it isn’t’.</p>
<h3>3. Alcoholic or Just Drunk?</h3>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54ef6fb569bedd3f4e86bcca-1200-924/guinness-pint-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Guinness pint">Ireland is often thought about as a country full of pubs and alcoholics, but is it even true? It&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thefix.com/content/irish-and-alcoholic-are-they-one-same">looks like it is</a>. There are around&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pubgoer.com/articles/how-many-pubs-in-ireland/">7,500 pubs</a>&nbsp;open all over the country and drinking is natural for everyone.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<a href="http://alcoholireland.ie/facts/how-much-do-we-drink/">Studies</a>&nbsp;show that 64.3% of 18-24 year old drinkers consume six or more standard drinks on a typical drinking session and 75% of all alcohol consumed was done as part of a binge drinking session. Moreover, &nbsp;54%&nbsp; of 18-75 year old drinkers were classified as harmful drinkers which equates to 1.35 million harmful drinkers.</p>
<h3>4. Pubs Aren’t Just For Getting Drunk</h3>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54ef6b4d69bedda23e86bccd-1200-924/irish-pub.jpg" border="0" alt="Irish pub">Irish pubs outside Ireland are often the go-to places when someone wants to chill, listen to live music, watch a game on TV, be with friends while chugging down glasses of Guinness, get drunk, or end up in a brawl. A true Irish pub isn’t only green and serving Guinness on tap.</p>
<p>In Ireland, a pub (short for&nbsp;<a href="http://uncorneredmarket.com/irish-pub/">public house</a>) is a place where people of all ages gather not only to drink, but also to catch up on their friend’s and family’s latest happenings. Traditionally, a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/trends/article/irish-pubs">pub is a community center</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;not a sports bar. There can still be music but there’s a certain sound that you’ll find in a real Irish pub – flowing conversations mixing in with the continuous flow of drinks.</p>
<h3>5. Slagging</h3>
<p>Slagging or&nbsp;<a href="http://study-abroad-blog-dublin-as.ciee.org/2011/03/slagging-is-an-ancient-gaelic-word-for-lying-to-americans.html">‘pulling one’s leg’</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="http://www.irishslang.info/general/197-slagging.html">making fun of someone</a>&nbsp;has been a part of the Irish culture for years. The closeness of Irish friendships – particularly Irish male friendships – can be measured by how<a href="http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/slagging-is-so-much-part-of-what-we-do-that-we-find-it-odd-when-someone-objects-26469553.html">egregiously the friends insult each other</a>.</p>
<p>This Irish custom can be easily misunderstood as foreigners not used to these jokes have often taken it seriously. As a foreigner, don’t take the slagging as an offense. Otherwise, think of it as a way of being familiar with you. The more they like you, the more they’ll slag you rather than shower you with&nbsp;<a href="http://campus.ie/surviving-college/international/9-irish-habits-yanks-will-never-understand">compliments</a>. Common topics for slagging include your incompetence, size, height, and probably everything else. The best way to react when someone slags you off?&nbsp;<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/Irish-customs-of-interacting.html#anchor-name-slagging">Slag them back</a>.</p>
<h3>6. Easygoing People</h3>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54ef726469beddb54f86bcd0-1200-924/dublin-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Dublin">When it comes to time and socializing, Ireland is known to be the country with&nbsp;<a href="http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=ie">laid-back people</a>. The Irish like to present themselves as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/Irish-customs-of-interacting.html#anchor-name-easygoing">easygoing people</a>. People get onto&nbsp;first-name basis very quickly, even with authorities.</p>
<p>Studies have found that&nbsp;<a href="http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/irish-managers-among-the-most-easy-going-in-europe-188684-Jul2011/">Irish bosses are the most easygoing in Europe</a>. However, the Irish people’s relaxed take on time can be frustrating for others.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.livinginireland.ie/en/culture_society/culture_society/">Time keeping isn’t that important in Ireland</a>&nbsp;and being late 5 to 15 minutes (or later) is considered normal.</p>
<h3>7. No Compliments Please</h3>
<p>Irish people are&nbsp;<a href="http://campus.ie/surviving-college/international/9-irish-habits-yanks-will-never-understand">extremely self-depreciating</a>. Most of them don’t want to be perceived to be arrogant or show-offs. They try to be likeable and equal to the rest of the people, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/Irish-customs-of-interacting.html#anchor-name-easygoing">boasting</a>&nbsp;isn’t normally a part of the Irish culture.</p>
<p>When you compliment an Irish person about an item they have, expect to receive a humble answer such as the commonly heard phrase “ Thanks, Pennys.” which means that the said item is cheap and not really worth the compliment. Any sort of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/why-cant-women-accept-compliments-because-irish-men-cant-give-them-29381967.html">praise or admiration are often played down</a>.</p>
<h3>8. Heavy Tea Drinkers</h3>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54ef708cecad048b4186bcc8-1200-924/drinking-tea-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Drinking tea">Besides being heavy on the booze, Irish people are also hardcore when it comes to drinking tea. They are even considered as some of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-popular/10-biggest-tea-drinking-nations-worldwide/?view=all">heaviest tea drinkers</a>&nbsp;in the world with an average of four to six cups consumed per day.</p>
<p>A typical Irish household won’t run out of Lyons or Barry’s teabags and generally, tea is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/how-the-irish-drink-tea">served hot with milk</a>&nbsp;and sugar as add-ons. To show&nbsp;<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/irish-tea-culture.html">Irish hospitality</a>, it’s common that you as a visitor will be offered a cup of tea or more likely cups of tea several times a day. For non-tea drinkers, good luck.</p>
<h3>9. Sorry!</h3>
<p>“Sorry, we ran out of Guinness.”</p>
<p>“Sorry for the trouble.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, my phone is ringing.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, I need to go now.”</p>
<p>You’ll encounter&nbsp;<a href="http://getrealfrance.blogspot.com/2013/09/im-sorry-irish-style.html">apologies</a>&nbsp;anytime, anywhere in Ireland. Forget about saying ‘Excuse me’ when interrupting someone or passing by and say ‘<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/Irish-people-first-impressions.html">Sorry</a>’ instead when you’re in Ireland. In other words, saying ‘sorry’ is an act of Irish politeness.</p>
<h3>10. Having the Craic</h3>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54ef6b976bb3f7b91386bcc7-1200-924/irish-people-ireland-13.jpg" border="0" alt="irish people, ireland">What is craic? Craic is pronounced like the word ‘crack’ and no, ‘<a href="http://www.enjoy-irish-culture.com/Irish-customs-out-and-about.html#anchor-name-craic">having the craic’</a>&nbsp;doesn’t mean you need to take a drug. It’s easy to have the craic and you only need to do one simple thing: enjoy life! Make jokes, slag someone off, tell good stories, have fun with the best company, and you’ll indeed have that high, that ‘craic’. Music has been also known to spice up the craic.</p>
<p>The meaning of craic however, changes depending on the phrasing. For example, when someone asks you “How’s the craic?” it means “How are you?”. “We had great craic” means “We had great fun”.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/irish-sayings-and-what-they-mean-2015-2" >11 Irish sayings Americans don't understand</a></strong></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-ireland-that-shock-foreigners-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-whiskey-expensive-prices-2013-10">What Makes Vintage Whiskeys Worth Thousands Of Dollars</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-invests-500-million-on-data-centre-in-ireland-2015-2Apple is building a giant data centre right next to this beautiful Irish town (APPL)http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-invests-500-million-on-data-centre-in-ireland-2015-2
Mon, 23 Feb 2015 06:14:00 -0500Joshua Barrie
<p>You probably haven't heard of <a href="http://athenry.galway-ireland.ie/">Athenry</a>. It's a tiny town in County Galway, Ireland, not far from the Atlantic coast. But it's also soon to be home to one of Apple's new multi-million pound European data centres, which the company <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/02/23Apple-to-Invest-1-7-Billion-in-New-European-Data-Centres.html">announced in a press release on Monday.</a></p>
<p><strong>Here's Athenry:</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45a6-1200-800/130717468_ab99bc0e09_o.jpg" border="0" alt="130717468_ab99bc0e09_o"></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Silicon Valley tech company said on Monday that it's spending €1.7 billion, or around £1.25 billion, on two new data centres in Ireland and Denmark. Apple says each site will measure 166,000 square metres and they are expected to be up and running by 2017. Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that the projects are Apple's biggest in Europe to date. Each facility will use 100% renewable energy and power Apple services such as iTunes and iMessage for European customers. Cook says the buildings will be "some of our most advanced green building designs yet."</span></p>
<p><strong>Here's a rendering of one of the new facilities:</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45a8-800-566/apple-12.jpg" border="0" alt="Apple"></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Danish complex will be in Viborg, a city of about 100,000 people. But in Ireland, Apple has picked Athenry, a tiny town of just 3,950. It's a quaint, rural Irish western outpost 25km from the city of Galway. It has a parish church called St. Mary's, a medieval castle, and a train station. You might (at a push) be aware of it through the Irish song, "The Fields of Athenry." It's archetypal Ireland.</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AthenryNewsViews">People on the Athenry Facebook page seem quite excited about the developments.</a></p>
<p><strong>Here's another shot of Athenry (very picturesque):</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45a7-1024-768/221818750_899c6ccee1_o.jpg" border="0" alt="221818750_899c6ccee1_o"></strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">And this is what everyday life in Athenry is like:</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45a9-1200-924/11712556033b789688874k-2.jpg" border="0" alt="11712556033_b789688874_k"><a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/04/20/apple_expanding_operations_in_europe_will_create_500_jobs_in_cork_ireland">Apple's European HQ is in Cork, Ireland, </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">and it now employs around 18,300 people across the continent. It's expanding quickly. Apple writes that it has spent€7.8 billion with European companies and suppliers there to help build products and support operations around the world.</span></p>
<p><strong>The town looks really pretty:</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45aa-1200-858/2561469339_043973d293_o.jpg" border="0" alt="2561469339_043973d293_o"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As some regional newspapers have reported, Ireland is a popular choice for tech companies because of the predictable weather. RTE explains that regular, </span><a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0223/682120-apple-investment-galway/">chilly</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0223/682120-apple-investment-galway/">temperatures mean that the money spent on cooling the vast amount of equipment used to store information is kept to a minimum.</a>&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">RTE also mentions&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/apple-warns-it-may-have-to-pay-irish-back-tax-1.1982462">Apple's tax practises in the country.</a>&nbsp;Ireland has a low corporate tax rate and Apple (and other tech companies) have been criticised for basing operations there in ways that lower their US and UK tax bills.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br></span></p>
<p><strong>Quite wonderfully, you have to drive through a historic stone arch to get from A to B:</strong></p>
<p><strong><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54eb1105dd0895240f8b45ca-1200-800/130717501_595a28cd96_o.jpg" border="0" alt="130717501_595a28cd96_o"></strong><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">The train station is probably going to get much busier...</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45ab-1200-858/4604827640_364a9cd34a_o.jpg" border="0" alt="4604827640_364a9cd34a_o"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Apple (unsurprisingly) doesn't mention taxes&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/02/23Apple-to-Invest-1-7-Billion-in-New-European-Data-Centres.html">in its press release</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. It does say, though, that it plans to recover land previously used to harvest trees, provide outdoor education space for local schools, and create a walking trail for the local community. Apple also writes that it wants to make full use of the wind in the area (it's very windy on the west coast of Ireland) and that the projects have the "lowest environmental impact yet for an Apple data centre." </span><a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0223/682120-apple-investment-galway/">Once constructed, about 100 jobs are expected to be created.</a></p>
<p><strong>Here's the medieval castle:</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54eb0bacdd08956e198b45ac-1024-768/14863578874_ce9c852c7b_o.jpg" border="0" alt="14863578874_ce9c852c7b_o"></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-invests-500-million-on-data-centre-in-ireland-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gene-munster-apple-television-coming-2014-12">Star Analyst Gene Munster Has A New Prediction About The Apple Television</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-familys-7-million-trip-to-ireland-2015-2All of the ground the Obama family covered during their $7 million trip to Irelandhttp://www.businessinsider.com/obama-familys-7-million-trip-to-ireland-2015-2
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:03:00 -0500Amanda Macias
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e5e1a66da811494f99a7e9-1200-924/rtx10qkw.jpg" border="0" alt="air force one obama ireland"></p><p></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Being <span>America's</span>&nbsp;top civilian is expensive business.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">President Obama's attendance at the 39th annual G8 Summit in Northern Ireland cost taxpayers $6,932,923.20, including expenses related to security detail, various staffers, and the first lady's sightseeing tour with her daughters, according to&nbsp;Freedom of Information Act&nbsp;(FOIA) documents <a href="http://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/40814-af-ireland-travel-docs/" target="_blank">obtained by the nonprofit Judicial Watch</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>A&nbsp;<a href="http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Obama-California-Cover-Letter.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a>&nbsp;from the&nbsp;Department of the Air Force Headquarters Air Mobility Command notes shows that t</span><span>axpayers f</span><span>ork over&nbsp;</span><span>$206,337&nbsp;</span><span>every hour the world's most famous plane is in flight.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>No one can say the president didn't get anything done. Check out some of the people he met with:</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54e629e36bb3f7b55db6c790-1200-800/9314670081_f5ac4661ed_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54e62a2eecad04043d54bce1-1200-800/9314669729_4d437a3d6c_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland" style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54e62988ecad04fd3c54bce1-1200-800/9314665569_e109ae2e88_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland" style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/51e946566bb3f74a4400002d-1200-706/obama-31.png" border="0" alt="obama putin" style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e62ed469bedd827c3cbd83-1200-800/9314669939_4f2018f8d9_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama uk" style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54e62ac4ecad04ff3c54bce2-1200-800/9317457230_991d30c4db_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland" style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54e62a5c6da811a94499a7e9-1200-800/9314669647_55bfacbaac_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama irealnd" style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span></p>
<h2>And here's what the 3-days of travel looked like:</h2>
<h3>The family began their trip on Air Force One from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland to the UK's Belfast International Airport in northern Ireland on June 17th, 2013. The 5.8 hour trip cost approximately $1,196,754.60.<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e613056da8114c4e99a7e9-1021-432/ireland-2.png" border="0" alt="ireland obama"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54e63046ecad04e35354bce3-1200-750/ap472319825567.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e62fc66bb3f72e79b6c790-1200-924/ap646804542075.jpg" border="0" alt="obama ireland"></h3>
<h3>Three hours after their arrival, first lady Michelle Obama and her two daughters flew 30 minutes to Dublin, Ireland.&nbsp;<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54e6201369beddae403cbd83-951-541/second flight.png" border="0" alt="second flight obama"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54e62e226bb3f73a75b6c78e-1200-1091/ap876473305024.jpg" border="0" alt="obama dublin"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e62e8b69beddee7f3cbd8e-1200-750/ap36792051827.jpg" border="0" alt="obama dublin"></h3>
<h3>The next day, the family flew back to Belfast from Dublin and in less than 2 hours were en route to Berlin. <img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e623ffeab8ea840c7a93de-1200-632/de.png" border="0" alt="de obama trip"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e62b83eab8ea272f7a93dd-1200-800/ap95621517957.jpg" border="0" alt="obama trip germany"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e62d0069bedd847f3cbd83-1200-800/9314670429_7e2e7d467c_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama merkel"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54e62ccd6da811e45199a7ed-1024-683/11665803236_0256502252_b.jpg" border="0" alt="obama merkel"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e62d4269bedd817a3cbd84-1200-858/9317458704_99324e4cb7_k.jpg" border="0" alt="obama"></h3>
<h3>The family then flew home from Berlin to Joint Base Andrews on June 19th. According to the Air Force documents, a total of 33.6 flight hours were clocked in.<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e6266b6bb3f78951b6c791-1200-572/last leg.png" border="0" alt="last leg"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e62c85ecad04894a54bce1-1024-683/11665802146_e82f50d4c5_b.jpg" border="0" alt="obama air force one"></h3>
<h3>President Obama has traveled internationally more than any other president, and he has done it on the "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/price-to-fly-on-air-force-one-2015-2" target="_blank">most&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/price-to-fly-on-air-force-one-2015-2" target="_blank">expensive-to-operate Air Force One</a>&nbsp;to date."&nbsp;</h3>
<h3>Here are the flight records via Judicial Watch:</h3>
<p><iframe width="840" height="1120" frameborder="0" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/256278662/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-ZubuglRjwkYtSTub6Xbf&amp;show_recommendations=false" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="1.3191800878477307"></iframe></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/price-to-fly-on-air-force-one-2015-2" >It's ridiculously expensive to fly the most famous plane in the world</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-familys-7-million-trip-to-ireland-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-dangerous-nuclear-toy-2015-2This 1950s child's toy came with 4 types of uranium ore and a Geiger counterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-dangerous-nuclear-toy-2015-2
Wed, 18 Feb 2015 05:58:58 -0500Peter Farquhar
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e4707edd0895d0228b45b6-680-510/gilber-nuclear-toy3.jpg" border="0" alt="Gilber Nuclear Toy3"></p><p>Ireland’s Ulster Museum has a new star – the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, often dubbed “the most dangerous toy in the world”.</p>
<p>Why? Because it came with four types of uranium ore and three different radiation sources. And just for fun, a Geiger counter which could tell parents exactly how contaminated their child had become while playing with it.</p>
<p>It wasn’t cheap either, selling off the shelf in 1950 for $49.50, around the $500 mark in today’s money.</p>
<p>National Museums Northern Ireland’s Curator of Palaeontology Dr Mike Simms&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nmni.com/Home/News/World-s--Most-Dangerous-Toy--Goes-on-Display" target="_blank">said he was delighted to come across the rare toy</a>&nbsp;and took the chance to buy it for the museum’s Elements exhibition immediately.</p>
<p>“I think visitors will find it amazing and amusing that this set allowed budding young scientists to measure radioactivity of Uranium in the comfort of their own homes,” he said.</p>
<p>“Perhaps it wouldn’t pass today’s health and safety standards but it is a perfect fit for the Elements exhibition.”</p>
<p>As well as four uranium-bearing ore samples, the kit also included a spinthariscope – a cloud chamber that shows speeding particles produced by atomic disintegration:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e4707edd0895d0228b45b7-680-510/gilber-nuclear-toy.jpg" border="0" alt="Gilber Nuclear Toy" width="800">&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here’s how it was described in the product catalogue:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“Produces awe-inspiring sights! Enables you to actually SEE the paths of electrons and alpha particles travelling at speeds of more than 10,000 miles per SECOND! Electrons racing at fantastic velocities produce delicate, intricate paths of electrical condensation–beautiful to watch. Viewing Cloud Chamber action is closest man has come to watching the Atom! Assembly kit (Chamber can be put together in a few minutes) includes Dri-Electric Power Pack, Deionizer, Compression Bulb, Glass Viewing Chamber, Tubings, power leads, Stand and Legs.”</span></p>
<p>A government manual taught young atomic scientists how to prospect for uranium and even offered a hefty reward for finding it:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e4707edd0895d0228b45b8-680-420/gilber%20nuclear%20toy2.jpg" border="0" alt="Gilber Nuclear Toy2" width="800">&nbsp;</p>
<p>The man who invented it, Alfred Gilbert, was a magician, toymaker and athlete who once held the world record for consecutive chin-ups (39) and pole vault.</p>
<p>He defended the Atomic Lab in his autobiography,&nbsp;<em>The Man Who Lives in Paradise</em>, saying none of the materials it contained were conceivably dangerous and America’s best nuclear physicists had helped develop the kit.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-dangerous-nuclear-toy-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eighth-grader-invents-braille-printer-2015-1">A 13-Year-Old Made A Revolutionary Invention Out Of Legos And Now Intel Is Investing In His Company</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/irish-sayings-and-what-they-mean-2015-211 Irish sayings Americans don't understand http://www.businessinsider.com/irish-sayings-and-what-they-mean-2015-2
Tue, 17 Feb 2015 11:51:00 -0500Niall Colbert
<p class="p1"><em><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e37051eab8ea5c593e4919-1200-924/the-brazen-head-pub-dublin.jpg" border="0" alt="the brazen head pub dublin">The phrases below are idioms that are unique to the Irish culture. Check them out, along with their meanings, below.&nbsp;</em></p>
<h2>1. "You could skin a cat out there."</h2>
<p>Cats from Kerry to Donegal live in a constant fear of being skinned alive when the RTE weather announces temperatures dipping to -5 during the night.</p>
<p>The utterance of “Well, you could skin a cat out there, it’s frightfully cold!” from their middle-aged female owners sends a shiver down their spine and serves as a gentle reminder to be thankful they didn’t start out life like a Sphynx cat.</p>
<p>The good news for our feline friends is that 99% of Met Eireann’s weather reports are a crock of shite, so they probably won’t look like those inside-out looking creatures for a while to come.</p>
<h2>2. "Get the finger out."</h2>
<p>Spending more than a matter of minutes with an older Irish person has only one guaranteed outcome – they will call you and your generation lazy and useless. You’ll get the “When I was your age I was already…” spiel you’ve heard countless times before.</p>
<p>On top of that you’ve also been told to “get the finger out!” Out of where? You can clearly see my arms are folded as I lean awkwardly on my hurl at the full forward line. Now, what were my opponent and I talking about before we were so rudely interrupted!</p>
<h2>3. "It cost me an arm and a leg."</h2>
<p>Irish people love to tell you when they’ve forked out some of their hard-earned Euros. What they fail to tell you is how much it physically pained them to pry open their wallet to do so.</p>
<p>At times I feel some of my family would rather pay with a limb than key in their PIN at the debit machine. I’m still waiting for the day my girlfriend gets wheelbarrowed to the door with a pair of designer jeans in tow!</p>
<h2>4. "Take your point, the goals will come."</h2>
<p>In terms of the game played, this phrase makes total sense: you should choose to go for the score which offers the easier path. On the larger scale of life I suppose it means to take the easy option every time and never aspire to aim for anything that may be blocked by some sort of obstacle. GAA idioms should really stick to the field of play!</p>
<h2>5. "You’re taking the piss."</h2>
<p>Now, we don’t go around stealing urine samples from clinics before you jump to conclusions! Taking the piss is a figurative way of saying you’re joking with someone. Americans are “kidding”, Irish people are “taking the piss”, note the difference!</p>
<h2>6. "As happy as Larry."<img class="float_left" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e364d7eab8ea0b2b3e4916-1200-924/irish-people-ireland-9.jpg" border="0" alt="irish people, ireland" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span></h2>
<p>The happiest guy in all of Ireland is, and forever will be, some lad named Larry.</p>
<p>No one knows the reasoning behind his permanent state of happiness but fair play to him for remaining so optimistic throughout the recent hard times which have hit the country.</p>
<p>He must have found a nice market being the only upbeat person in the country since 2008!</p>
<h2>7. "Away with the fairies."</h2>
<p>An Irish person’s way of saying another one is a bit mad. The phrase essentially means you’re living in your own land where common sense and rules are figments of the imagination. “Ah don’t mind that lad, sure he’s away with the fairies!” a common rebuttal to the opinion of that lad in your group of friends.</p>
<h2>8. "On their way out."</h2>
<p>Only in Ireland would you talk about a person approaching death as you would a person leaving a bar. “How’s Tom doing up at the hospital?” I ask my Dad. “Ah not too well, he’s on his way out!” he responds. The news sinks my heart, although this time no one will be rushing after him to pay his bill at the pub!</p>
<h2>9. "Running around like a headless chicken."</h2>
<p>Back to animal brutality we go! One day you’re graduating from Maynooth with a degree in Theology and the next you’re struggling to find a job in Supermac’s. They said the skills I learned would be transferable! A decapitated chicken’s desperate attempt to cling on to its final moments of life encapsulate your struggle finding a job perfectly, no?</p>
<h2>10. "Nearly never bulled a cow."</h2>
<p>It’s as close to getting “close, but no cigar” you’re going to get in the Irish countryside. I’m no expert on breeding animals and the terminology associated with it, but this one seems pretty obvious! I guess the further you live from the countryside, the less likely it is that you will ever hear this idiom… but you can’t get that image out of your head can you? So, the next time you nearly do something, try to just do it to save an elderly Irish man using this expression and creeping you out!</p>
<h2>11. "Not the full shilling."</h2>
<p>Big deal, we don’t use the old money anymore! We never switched to “not the full Euro” for fear of the currency going the way of Brian Cowen’s reign as Taoiseach! Not the full shilling is used to describe that lad who you think has a few screws loose in their noggin. Your evidence is based solely on hearsay and that never-ending look on his face that screams “psychopathic serial killer”.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/british-sayings-and-what-they-mean-2014-11" >12 British sayings Americans don't understand</a></strong></p>
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